DEH July 4th Oneshot
by snake-eyed-storm
Summary: Treebros fluff featuring fireworks, snuggles, and a bit of angst for flavor.


It was hot outside. That was a given. It was the kind of heat where the wind was hot as well, and it only made it worse instead of cooling you down. It sent chills up Evan's spine that spread through the rest of his body. He was standing on the concrete outside of his house without shoes. He began to get anxious about nerve damage in his feet, and so he moved to stand on the front lawn. The grass, if you could call it that, painfully poked his feet with every step he took, but at least the ground was cooler and he was standing on the Earth which he loved, instead of the unforgiving concrete surface made by man. He saw the black shape of a cat-like animal slink past his driveway and into the space between his and his neighbor's house, and tensed up immediately. He would not like to be bitten by some animal and get rabies today. Not at all. What kind of animal was that anyway? It seemed too long to be a cat, but very much cat like all the same. He felt the hot wind on his face again, the chilling sensation swept throughout his body. It was all too ominous. The heat. The animals. The flashes in the sky. Green. Blue. Pink. Yellow. Red.

He looked down the road connecting to his driveway. He saw another cat like shape slip past the fence of the yard on the corner of the street and out of Evan's view. He heard a conversation between the two ladies that lived up the road.

"Can you see anything?"

"Not from here. Goodness, it's hot."

"Yeah. Hotter than it's ever been."

"Absolutely. And the animals have been coming out at night. It's much too hot for them during the day."

"I've been seeing a few foxes around here recently."

"Woof WOOF," added their dog.

Evan tuned them out after that. So those animals were foxes. Evan had always wanted to get a good look at a fox. How could he have missed his chance? He hung his head and rubbed his arms as if that would make him cool down.

Independence day was not supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be so creepy. What was so creepy about it Evan still had to figure out. Maybe it was the freezing heat that felt so wrong, the strange foxes, the fireworks that he couldn't quite see, all of them put together, or something else. Maybe he had forgotten to take his pills this morning, and he was overreacting. Perhaps everything was fine.

Independence day was not supposed to be like this. It should be happy. It should have been filled with family and patriotism. His dad should be here. He'd be grilling all through the afternoon. Heidi would sit outside on the porch sipping lemonade and smiling. Evan and some possible younger siblings would throw a frisbee around in the front yard. They'd hang the big American flag on the house together and they'd wave around mini ones and sparklers. Then his non-existent siblings would have to take a nap inside or something, and he'd sit on the porch talking to his mom. Connor would be there too, of course. He and Connor would share a nice make-out session or two in between gasps of breath and words of love. And then the Kleinmans would arrive. And Jared and Evan would hang out and be friends and do friendly stuff, and Connor the same. Then his dad would be done making dinner and they'd all eat outside. Evan would enjoy the heat and the potential that comes with summer instead of the feeling he had now. He'd eat hamburgers and hot dogs and grilled corn. He'd have huge slices of watermelon and would spit out the seeds. Jared would probably tease him, and they'd have a contest or something. Evan would be able to laugh. Evan would be at ease enough to tears him back. After that, they'd have vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce, blueberries, and loads of whipped cream. He'd get some on his nose like half of a couple does in those sappy romance movies and Connor...Connor would probably do something weird like lick it off or something, but it would still be perfect anyway. Everything would be perfect. They would just sit on the porch through the rest of the day, watching Evan's imaginary little siblings play. They'd sit there through the sunset, Evan leaning his head on Connor's shoulder. Jared would be giggling madly and making snarky remarks directed towards the couple. Then the fireworks would start up, and the whole family would be mesmerized. They'd be able to see them perfectly, just above the neighbor across the road's house, between the two trees in the distance. Evan's head would shoot up at the noise but he'd make up for it by squeezing Connor's hand. They'd kiss during the grand finale. They'd get up to much more than kissing once they made it into Evan's bedroom.

But no, he was here all alone. So Evan began running. He ran through the prickly plants of his yard and everybody else's. He ran across the street to the elementary school where his siblings would go, if he had any. He turned about 90 degrees left. He could see flashes of color behind one of the tin school buildings that Evan had no idea what it was used for. He moved into the empty parking lot in front of the school, but the fireworks were blocked by trees. Trees that Evan would not climb. Not while he was in the mood that he was in now. So Evan ran behind the school instead. He ran to the playground where there was actual grass that was softer and cool and wet. He could see the fireworks from here. He kept walking, wanting to get closer. Evan allowed the grass to tickle his feet as he walked past all of the equipment, let the pebbles massage them as he walked up a gravel path, and let the concrete of the edge of a small bridge burn his elbows as he rested them on it. Evan was dangerously close to a busy road. There were cars whizzing by two feet away from his face. He decided to back away before he did anything he would regret. He sat down and just stared at the sky, the fireworks, and the smoke that they made. He flinched as he heard a rustle behind him. Was it another animal? Evan began sweating, not only from the sweltering southern weather. He was about to go into back away slowly mode when the figure of a human came from behind and sat crisscrossed next to him, saying nothing. Their knees bumped and it made Evan smile.

"Connor," he whispered.

"Evan," Connor responded. He took Evan's hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth across Evan's knuckles, neither of them breaking their gaze from the sky. There was a shower of colorful dots in the sky every two seconds or so, and a loud boom that followed after, but nothing special. Until the grand finale, that is.

Suddenly, the sound became deafening as colors filled the sky. Pink, green, orange, purple, blue, gold, red, everything above the horizon was filled with colored, shining, flying flames showered in the sky like a dispersement of sharp water droplets. Some fireworks were small and seemed to fit in the circle you could make with your thumb and index finger. Others were huge and seemed to expand infinitely, while still fitting in that circle because they were so far away. Evan's personal favorite were those that made cool shapes, like a smiley face or a planet with a ring. He especially liked the green ones.

"Ev'" Connor whispered again, brushing Evan's hair away from his face.

"How did you find me?" Evan asked, the last of the fireworks fading, the trails of smoke in the sky being the only indication that they had ever been there.

"Your mom told me that you were going out to find the fireworks," Connor said simply, "I went to the place I knew I would see them, and there you were."

His voice dropped an octave, "Although even they look dull in comparison to something as stunning as yourself." Connor's mouth was dangerously close to Evan's ear, and the cool breath on his sweaty neck made him shiver in a much more pleasant way than any of the creepy wind.

Evan probably blushed and smiled bashfully because of the compliment, his face illuminated by the far-off orangey lights on the school.

"I...um...Is it okay if I..." Evan mumbled. His head was tilted downwards, but his eyes were still focused on Connor's face.

"We should go inside," Evan decided. Connor slowly nodded his head yes.

They stood up and intertwined their fingers as they walked back past the old playground, up the road and back to Evan's porch. Then it happened. Cupping Evan's face in his hands, Connor delicately placed his lips to the others. The kiss was slow, sweet, and shy, all that they were comfortable within this stage of their relationship. They didn't open their mouths or even close their eyes, but to Evan, it was perfect anyway. It was quick, yet it felt so long. He could've kissed Connor for a day and it would feel like eons. When they parted Evan ran his fingers through Connor's hair and down his back, brushing them against Connor's hip before resting his arm at his side again. No, the day wasn't how Evan had imagined it should be, but it was wonderful anyway.

"You know, Ev'?" Connor began, pulling down the blankets on Evan's bed and lying down.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," he whispered into the blonde's hair as Evan took his place beside his boyfriend.

"Me too," Evan responded, nestling into Connor's chest as close as he could possibly get, absorbing all of his pleasant warmth that was nothing like what was outside, and closing his eyes.


End file.
